Master Cleanse Diet Warning: Side Effects No One Told You About

Fresh lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water are ingredients in the Master Cleanse Diet, also known as the Maple Syrup Diet. Imagine living off of those four ingredients for a couple of days; sounds ridiculous, right? Apparently, it isn’t ridiculous for superstars Beyonce and Gwyneth Paltrow to live on the Master Cleanse Diet for 10 days or more when they need to lose weight. The Master Cleanse Diet is supposed to give weight lose results fast. Well, for those who partake in the diet, they consume close to nothing, therefore starving their bodies.

Before starting the Master Cleanse Diet, participants only think about the normal side effects of starting a crash diet. Yes, craving actual food is one of them and resisting temptation is another. Reading articles of side effects of the Master Cleanse Diet on its official website is mortifying. Dizziness is caused by not drinking enough fresh lemonade, it says. What? The dizziness is caused by hypoglycemia, because the body has low blood sugar. Even if drinking the fresh detoxifying lemonade helps, the dizziness will return soon enough.

That’s not the only side effect of this detox diet. A few others that are even more unappealing include:

1. Bad Breath

2. Increase in plaque, ear wax, and mucous

3. Feeling chills

4. Diarrhea

5. Emotional and psychological side effects

The side effects of the Master Cleanse Diet can be avoided entirely if individuals find a healthier alternative to losing weight. In response to severely low-calorie diets, our Mary Hartley, RD has said, “Rapid weight loss encourages malnutrition, muscle wasting, early weight-plateaus, and binge-eating. Weight that is lost quickly is usually regained.”

Samantha Bandasack is a junior at Wichita State University studying marketing and communications. She enjoys staying healthy by practicing hot yoga, weight lifting, and eating plenty of spinach so she can still have her favorite cookies.

The information provided within this site is strictly for the purposes of information only and is not a replacement or substitute for professional advice, doctors visit or treatment. The provided content on this site should serve, at most, as a companion to a professional consult. It should under no circumstance replace the advice of your primary care provider. You should always consult your primary care physician prior to starting any new fitness, nutrition or weight loss regime.